It’s time again for Apple’s annual worldwide developer conference, and we’re itching to see what the company will officially share today. Last year’s WWDC saw the official unveiling of Apple Intelligence — the company’s set of updates involving machine learning and language models that its competitors Google and Microsoft had already teed up years ago. At WWDC 2025, we expect to see the usual announcements around the next versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and visionOS.
But instead of various different numbers indicating the generation of each platform like before, this year might see the company adopt a unified year-based naming standard that would result in things being called iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26 and such as opposed to iOS 19 and watchOS 12 as anticipated.
If you want to watch Apple’s keynote presentation for yourself, check out how to watch WWDC 2025 for details on the various places you can find the livestream. For those who prefer following along a third-party liveblog that’s largely text- and image-based, scroll down for our coverage right here!
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The keynote starts at 1PM ET (or 10AM PT) but our liveblog begins hours before that, as we plan to share our experience and impressions live from Apple Park in Cupertino. You should absolutely join us around 10AM ET for the full experience to feel like you’re right here with us. The pictures of snacks alone should be worth it.
Update, 1:43PM ET: See our evolving recap of everything Apple has announced at WWDC 2025.
Live246 updates
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Apple just served dinner here at the visitor center where media attendees are set up to work between our briefings. The Szechuan hot chicken slider in particular was fantastic.
A plate on which a fried chicken slider and two cups of salads are sat. (Cherlynn Low for Engadget) -
Apple’s walled garden is the iPad’s biggest roadblock to becoming a Mac
Apple’s Craig Federighi standing next to an iPadOS 26 view on an iPad Pro. (Apple) Will Shanklin took note of the big iPadOS multitasking update (as well as improved Files support and menu bars in apps) and feels like the gap between the iPad and Mac is smaller than ever. But Apple’s reliance on the App Store might be the last thing separating the two devices — and something that keeps the Mac as a better option for a lot of people.
“iPadOS 26 makes Apple’s tablet much more like macOS. Better windowing? Check. The menu bar? Yup. There’s even a more fine-tuned Files app, along with document editing in Preview. It’s as if Apple took a checklist of longtime power-user requests and fulfilled them all. It’s enough that the App Store’s walled garden could be the last remaining reason to stick with your Mac.”
Read more: Apple’s walled garden is the iPad’s biggest roadblock to becoming a Mac
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The Phone app in macOS 26 is another baby step towards a cellular Mac
The new Phone app in macOS Tahoe 26. (Apple) As usual, Apple is unifying the Mac, iPhone and iPad. It’s been a theme for years, and it was a major focus of today’s keynote. Among the features being shared across platforms is a new Phone app for the Mac that uses your iPhone’s cellular signal to make calls. This has been a feature for years, but the new Phone app should make it a better experience. It also piqued Ian Scott Campbell’s interest.
“While it still remains more of a dream than an obvious stop on Apple’s product roadmap, the company’s updates in macOS Tahoe 26 offer new evidence that Apple could one day sell Macs with cellular connectivity. Sure, the biggest takeaway from WWDC 2025 will probably be the new Liquid Glass design language the company is sprinkling over all of its operating systems, but based on the addition of a Phone app to macOS, Apple’s laptops and phones are converging in more ways than one.”
Read more: The Phone app in macOS 26 is another baby step towards a cellular Mac
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Every WWDC should end with a song composed of app reviews
Apple The WWDC keynote ended in strange fashion, but it was Anna Washenko’s favorite part of the day. As she says, “the final three minutes of a full band performing real reviews of apps became the actual highlight of WWDC for me.”
Read more: Every WWDC should end with a song composed of app reviews
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Nate and I are currently at the visitor center in Apple Park, where media attendees are getting lunch and using the space to finish filing stories. Today’s menu includes a grilled chicken salad, “California Roll crab roll” and a “Garden-smoked carrot lox on pumpernickel.” Dessert options feature oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies. I’m bummed that the matcha sugar cookie from previous years isn’t here, but maybe that’s just reserved for the September iPhone launches.
A cafe with lots of people sat at tables and working, and lots of people standing in front of a counter at the back. (Cherlynn Low for Engadget) -
iPadOS 26 makes Apple’s tablets more like Macs
iPads are growing even more Mac-like with the next operating system update. (Apple) It’s been a common refrain for many years: iPads are great for lean-back content consumption, but when you need to get “real work” done, you toggle over to a full-fledged computer — Mac or otherwise. Apple has inched closer to making the iPad more productivity-friendly in recent years with additions like Stage Manager, but a lot of creatives still hit a wall with tasks like windows management or app switching.
But iPadOS 26 (the new year-based moniker for the tablet operating system) may finally change that. Better windowing, a real menu bar, a full-fleged Preview app, an improved Files app and better handling of audio and video capture all look to be big wins for iPad-based creators (and podcasters specifically). And the icing on the cake for power users is background tasking, which should finally allow things like video and audio file rendering while you multi-task.
Read more: iPadOS 26 makes Apple’s tablets more like Macs
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Apple’s visionOS 26 brings eye-scrolling and support for PS VR2 controllers
Better gaming support and a laundry list of new lifestyle improvements are coming to Apple’s Vision Pro headset. (Apple) At $3,500, Apple’s Vision Pro headset is still a hard sell for the vast majority of users — even those looking for bleeding-edge virtual reality. But with visionOS 26 — the third iteration of the Vision’s operating system coming this fall — existing users of the headset are getting quite a few upgrades.
First and foremost, Vision Pro users will gain compatibility with PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers. That should open up some serious gaming options, since the Vision Pro was previously limited to hand gestures.
Apple headset users will also get support for eye-scrolling, which means they can (you guessed it) navigate documents and websites with their eyes.
And while Apple made a point of emphasizing the unified “liquid glass” look and feel across all its newly updated operating systems, that design language was effectively already infused into the Vision’s interface.
Read more: Apple’s visionOS 26 brings eye-scrolling and support for PS VR2 controllers
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watchOS 26: Everything Apple announced for its wearable at WWDC 2025
Apple During Apple’s WWDC keynote event today in Cupertino, company execs announced, among other things, the latest Apple Watch software:
watchOS 12, er, watchOS 26. Like iOS, macOS, iPadOS and the rest, the latest generation of watchOS will now be appended with the upcoming year, instead of a sequential number. What would have been watchOS 12, is now watchOS 26.Aside from the new name, there’s a new look for watchOS, too. Apple gave its entire suite of software a redesign, one that takes aesthetic cues and the “physicality and richness” of visionOS, the software used in the company’s VR headset, the Vision Pro. It’s the biggest redesign since iOS 7. The look is called “liquid glass” and dynamically reacts to movement and responds to the content on screen. Menus now better fit to the rounded corners of the hardware. Notifications and other information now involve translucent backgrounds, giving the interface a glass-like appearance.
Read more: watchOS 26: Everything Apple announced for its wearable at WWDC 2025
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macOS Tahoe 26 will bring Apple’s new Liquid Glass UI to your desktop
Apple So long macOS Sequoia, hello macOS Tahoe 26. Apple’s next desktop operating system will feature the company’s Liquid Glass UI, but at this point, it doesn’t look like there will be any truly transformative features like last year’s iPhone mirroring. But hey, at least Apple isn’t trying to make us excited about widgets again. Just like the rest of Apple’s new software, Tahoe’s version number has also been updated to reflect the upcoming year — previously, we expected it to be macOS 16. While that may take some getting used to, it’s easier than trying to remember the different version numbers across Apple’s platforms.
At first glance, Apple’s Liquid Glass refresh almost seems like a rehash of the “Aero” design Microsoft used in Windows Vista (which came out nearly 20 years ago, yikes). True to its name, a varying degree of transparency is key to Apple’s new aesthetic — that includes a fully transparent menu bar, as well new light and dark tints for those respective display modes. Basically, it looks like macOS Tahoe will be Apple’s most customizable desktop OS yet.
Read more: macOS Tahoe 26 will bring Apple’s new Liquid Glass UI to your desktop
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The developer beta is available today and the public beta will be available in July. -
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The new Liquid Glass visual approach will be available for app developers too. (Sam Chapman for Engadget)
